Clinically Standardized Meditation
Clinically Standardized Meditation
Clinically Standardized Meditation was developed by Patricia Carrington while she was conducting studies on meditation at Princeton University in the early-to-mid 1970s. Believing that Transcendental meditation TM® was not flexible enough to be suitable for all clinical purposes and that the cost of its instruction put it beyond the reach of most individuals and institutions, Carrington modified a classical Indian form of mantra meditation and produced what she called Clinically Standardized Meditation.
Clinically Standardized Meditation
Main components: Trainees are instructed to choose a mantra from a list of 16 Sanskrit mantras, or choose their own. In choosing their own mantra, practitioners are told to select a word that has a “pleasant ringing sound” and to avoid using words that are emotionally loaded. The word should help fill the practitioner with a sense of serenity. In its original formulation, Clinically Standardized Meditation used a secular ritual for transferring the mantra. Clinically Standardized Meditation is practiced while sitting comfortably, with eyes open and focused on a pleasant object of some kind. The mantra is repeated aloud, slowly and rhythmically, at ever decreasing volume, until it is a whisper, at which point the mantra is no longer said aloud, but instead is only thought. The eyes are then closed as the meditator continues repeating the mantra in thought. Meditators allow the mantra to proceed at its own pace, getting faster or slower, louder or softer “as it wants.”
Breathing: Breathing is passive, proceeding at its own pace and is unconnected to the repetition of the mantra.
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Clinically Standardized Meditation
Attention and its object: Like Transcendental Meditation and Relaxation Response, Clinically Standardized Meditation is a passive technique that requires
little concentration or discipline. In contrast to Relaxation Response, Clinically Standardized Meditation instructs practitioners to flow with their thoughts rather than ignore them, returning periodically to the mantra.
Spirituality and belief: CSM is designed as a secular, clinical form of meditation practice, so no specific system of spirituality or belief is required.
Training Clinically Standardized Meditation is taught in two lessons: a 1-hour individual lesson and a group meeting. Clinically Standardized Meditation is practiced twice daily for 20 minutes. As with Relaxation Response, the contemporary version of Clinically Standardized Meditation differs slightly from its original form, with perhaps the most important difference being that trainees are given a manual and an audio recording of instructions rather than individual instruction.
Criteria of successful meditation practice: The criteria for successful meditation practice rest with the subjective evaluation of the meditator, the results of practice judged against the reported effects of Clinically Standardized Meditation. Books and audiotapes for self-instruction in Clinically Standardized Meditation are readily available, and there is no explicit statement that an experienced practitioner teach the technique or that individualized instruction is necessary.
Recommended:
This report is based on research conducted by the University of Alberta Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). No statement in this report should be construed as an official position of AHRQ or of the U.S. Department of Health and Human services
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